Hey, I have been a little busy of late, you know, having a 4th child and all. So, I am going to be taking a little sabbatical from blogging, if you have not noticed already. But, I am attempting to tweet. I think this form of communication may fit my ADHD mind a bit better.

Check me out @brian_d_coffey

What would it look like for a church community to be inclusive and constantly on the look out to make connections with people? I think Vista Worthington has the desire to do this. However, I know it can be a hard  step to take sometimes or you can feel very limited in what you have to offer. For me, the best place to meet people and talk are in the normal routines of life.

My oldest kid Georgia is now in school – crazy!

She is in half-day Kindergarten at Wilson Hills Elementary. We are loving it. This past week, Molly and I took the rest of the kids for the famed “Halloween Parade,” where the kids parade around the school in their costumes. I got to talk with an administrator, other teachers, and even more parents. All these folks are in my world; I keep running into the them (after school I ran into a mom at Kroger who raved about the parade as well). I met many of them at the Worthington rec center where my kids began attending swimming classes and other great pre-school-type classes. This week I’m going to go eat sushi and sing karaoke with a few of them that should be a blast. I find real joy in making new friendships and also the opportunity to connect more.

I don’t want to be known as a guy who works for a church and sometimes hangs out with people. I want to be known as a dad and husband who constantly seeks out real relationships with my neighbors and hangs out with people just because I like to, who also happens to sometimes work for a church. Does that make sense? Do you feel that tension sometimes, to not be seen as a “church goer” who doesn’t mingle with others? Or do you feel the freedom to be the church in your community where you are not afraid to follow Jesus, but can also be comfortable with hanging out with those who don’t?

We had a movie night at Marcus this past week–it was fun to get out. Many folks in line were asking, “What’s going on? Why are all these people here?” Great potential connections! As we move forward as a church, let’s be intentional about our relationships and connections, especially with folks right around us (kids’ schools, work-out classes, your neighborhood or apartment complex, your workplace, play groups at the park, etc.) Think about who you can hang out with come November 27th at the annual Worthington Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Who do you want to invite to our awesome Christmas deal over the December 9, 10, and 11th weekend? What new folks who have been coming to Vista Worthington can you connect even more with during our first Mega Group Nov. 18th at the Griswold Center (I’ll be blogging more soon on what a Mega-Group is and why I’m excited about it, so stay tuned)? Or, who can you simply invite along for a night out with the gals?

Let’s continue to band together to follow Jesus, in community, to transform our world, and live to glorify God and His call to be worshipful, relational, missional.

“We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.”
- Mother Theresa of Calcutta

My wife Molly and I sometimes chat before we go to bed at night. Every now and then it can become this big conversation that lasts an hour or so and we discuss all that matters in life and come up with the best solution our two brains can create. Last night before we both went to sleep, no such big convo occurred. But what did happen was no small thing: Molly quickly stated matter of factly that we have a TON of things going on! In addition to launching a church last Sunday, we have a million other things we are involved in besides normal jobs and taking care of the kids. It occured to me: “Wow, we are busy…” but then I thought, “It’s no more than how it always is.”

Are you feeling this way too? Especially considering the launch of Vista Worthington last week?

I sometimes get caught up with the busyness of life and say, “Oh well, this is the season I am in, it will get better.” You know, like “the grass is greener on the other side” mantra. But if I’m honest, more often than not life goes on and other things are added in the place of those things/tasks/appointments that fade out.

Such is real life.

I think the important thing to focus in on is not all the overwhelming, “woe-is-me,” “my life is so busy” mindset. I think we have to do a better job of seeing God in all the hectic moments of life. I know I need to.

This resonates with me right now because I want to be resilient in all aspects of life not just for now but ten years from now. While most of us are stepping out in faith–real heartfelt faith–with the start of Vista Worthington I want to also acknowledge Jesus in the small moments and not overlook His presence. I hope those out there reading this who are involved deeply with this movement don’t lose the traction God has grounded us on. We are to celebrate “Christ in us, the hope of Glory!” Mother Theresa had it right; even though there will be moments of great things accomplished by some, there will be even more moments of small everyday glories by the masses. Let us hold fast to the small things He has called us to and not be exasperated by the load.

Jesus says this beautifully–”Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

Vista these days has been really exciting! We are less than two weeks away from launching two locations on Sun., Oct. 2. I have spent many hours over the past eight months talking about and planning for Vista Worthington with countless people. So many good ideas have been discussed, so many relationships have grown, and so many hearts have been stirred to think outside of themselves and instead for God’s glory.

Here we are–finally! Come October 2 at 9:15 a.m., we will be meeting at Marcus Theatres at Crosswoods (map). We will have a wide arrange of emotions. My hope is that in it all we can say this very “trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance” from 1 Timothy 1:15-17:

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

My prayer is that we would not be worried about numbers, but that we can rejoice in the people who show up. I hope we can represent our love for each other and that it is compelling for those who may not yet know Jesus. May His name be lifted higher and His people be drawn unto Himself.

Everyone has their September 11th story, so I thought seeing how the 10th anniversary is this Sunday why not share mine?

I was a junior in college, newly married (i know crazy!), and renting out a little old government-subsidized apartment with Molly in Indiana. Just three months prior, Molly and I spent two weeks in Europe celebrating our honeymoon. I can remember feeling the sense that the world was ours. Remember that cool t-shirt “No Fear?” That was us. We traveled all through France and parts of Italy. The dollar dominated the Franc and Lira currency, (before everything changed over to the Euro). We lived it up as fun-loving US travelers. Security at the airport and entrance to the plain was painless. We had no kids, I can distinctly remember we. had. no. kids.

Back to the 11th…It was a Tuesday. I had just come back from a Promise Keepers weekend with a few guys from church–a good experience. (I was newly married so I needed a lot of help with communication and sensitivity to all things dealing with marriage life). I had gotten up early to read a book and get ready for the day. I had class at 9 a.m. Since were living in Indiana, in the Central Time Zone, we were an hour behind the East coast. I was in the shower and Molly must have been downstairs eating breakfast. Molly yelled upstairs to come quick downstairs, and told me my mom was on the phone. I ran down, still not totally dried off, thinking something was wrong with my mom (This is before we had cell phones; how did we survive!?) My mom told Molly to turn on the TV and as I got to the phone and saw the TV, the first tower had already been struck. Instantly my mom and I thought, “How could anyone accidentally fly a plane into that?!?” which is to say we thought it was a fluke. I hung up, went back upstairs to finish getting dressed and by the time I came downstairs another plane had hit the second tower. Sudden deep emotional sadness and curiosity set in. Molly and I were glued for the next 30 minutes to the TV. All kinds of reports were out that other attacks in other cities and places were taking place.

But I could not stay, I had class at 9 a.m. All of America and the world were glued to the television and I was arriving on a college campus with many people still unaware of what just happened. That quickly changed. Blood drives were set-up soon after I arrived, televisions all over campus had people huddled around them, and many classes were canceled. I arrived for my class, and my Professora was ready to teach, dismissing the events of the day and informing the class to “Forget about the TV and focus on Espanol!” I can tell you now everyone said “no mas” to Espanol.

I met up with Molly later that day after both our classes. Oddly enough, this was the day the local paper ran a huge (for me it was huge) cover page sports story on her as the captain of the college girls soccer team and her faith in Christ. She was widely known as the soccer player with the most red cards and the nicest person you’ll meet. Her coach handed her the paper with dismay that it had come out of all days on that day.

That night it seemed as if everyone was watching their TVs. Later we held a candle light vigil outside and spoke with a few of our neighbors. We knew intrinsically that Sept. 11, 2001, would be a historical day like no other, and that we were now living in a very different time.

Two other points I noticed that night: First, there were no planes flying in the sky; it was an eery feeling, quiet. As if reliance on our modern world was on hold. Second, people were honest about their faith and lack there of. It’s interesting that in times of uncertainty and with few safe guards people can be most receptive to a fresh message of hope.

A good friend sent me this video that I think expresses the message of hope in a very adequate way. Take a moment and watch this pilots story of that day:

May God continue to bless America by revealing our honest need of Him.

Well, my wife and I with 6 other great friends from Vista got back a little over a week ago from Cambodia. The trip had two primary components; one to visit our orphans we support and two to build-up the school in Svay Pak, which is a part of another partnership Vista is supporting. I loved it all!

Our team of 8 was dynamic and energized to hit the ground running (check out a special video we made on our Vista facebook page here). We had the opportunity of being the first team from Vista to work each day at the school. Every morning we taught in one of 9 classrooms, helped in a medical clinic, worked-out in a gym, and ran professional development sessions for the Cambodian teaching staff. Each afternoon we also organized and conducted a Kids Club with about 150 kids each day. I have not sweated that long and consistently in my life. Nor have I felt an almost equal part being used by God and also being filled up by Him simultaneously.

Most evenings we returned to the orphanage with our awesome kids. This was a recharge for us, being around those that are so loved and pouring out the Lord’s spirit. We were able to build amazing relationships with the kids and I cannot wait to go back and see my additional family soon.

Here are my takeaways:

• God is found everywhere, even in darkest of places such as the village we taught in, where sometimes He shines all the brighter within teachers and students who are radiating his abundance not necessarily in physical, tangible ways, but in the the unseen and more real way of deep affectionate love.
• There are models of relationships, ministry, and simplicity that we would do well to replicate here.
• Horn honking and turning into traffic needs to be a part of my daily life, all without aggression just like the friendly Cambodians do – seriously.

This blog is going to be an ongoing adventure in finding out how to put my mind on paper–er, a computer screen. One of the things I thought would be fun from time-to-time would be to write on things that I have read that could possibly be of interest for folks out there. So here goes…

I just finished Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman yesterday, a book about a guy who sets out to hike all 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.

I like to read books. My wife really likes to read books. Part of my desire to read books is to kinda of sorta beat Molly in the pace and scale of books read. I am a slower reader than she, so she typically finishes them off way faster. But, while I may be slower, I like to say I comprehend and retain them better than she!

Some of the best times to read a book is on vacation. Looking back on past vacations I normally recall three things: the food, the sporting event on television, and the book I was able to read. I have some summer lake vacations coming up so I plan on taking advantage and read some other books (Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand) on my radar…I’ll let you know what I get accomplished.

Hiking Through appeals to me for a number of reasons. One, the story is about this this guy who lost his wife and set out on the trail and found some sweet fellowship with the Lord and others that have transformed him forever. Another reason is this book captures my mind because of my experience hiking part of the Trail as a young boy. As a kid I did not have much of a relationship with my father; he never lived with my mother, brother, and I. However, the one thing I know I got from him was the hunger for backpacking. Of the few times my dad and I hiked part of the Trail, we spent a night in a shelter. We made a fire and had a great time. Several other hikers showed up, and it was like being part of a new small community of ragamuffins. One of the hikers was a “thru-hiker,” which means he was hiking the entire Trail all the way to Maine. Hearing this guy’s stories as a young boy was mesmerizing and seeing my dad’s desire to be out there in the woods was powerfully attractive. We thought at first we would sleep outside the shelter in tents, which is what I wanted to do, but the thru-hiker recommended that we stay in the shelter because of some bear sitings. Good thing we slept inside, because that very morning we all watched an amazing black bear hike right through our campsite. It was both terrifying and thrilling.

My dad loved to backpack and always wanted to hike the entire AT. It was this dangling goal for my dad that he could never achieve. Unfortunately, my father passed away back in 2003 and he never did summit that desire of his. But for me I hope someday–maybe when my kids are in college– to get a chance to spend those 4-6 months on the trail. I would love to get out there with some close guy friends and explore the forest floor that God has made for us. For now I will satisfy those cravings with some guys out in woods for shorter periods, say 4-6 days.

More books on this subject that may be of interest for you if you so choose to explore:

• The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert (this one is a little vulgar and out there on spiritual matters, but an interesting story nevertheless)
• The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (a thought-provoking story on how kids need the wilderness now more than ever)
• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (I have not read this one but it comes highly recommended)

Happy trails!